Home-Based Care Opens Door for Caregiver Immigration

| Photo by agilemktg1 via Flickr/Creative Commons CC PDM 1.0

In this Season of Hope, there is good news for Filipino caregivers wishing to immigrate to the U.S. There is currently no need to wait for years to start their visa application.

With the national shortage of care workers in the U.S. expected to exceed 150,000 in less than ten years, many private households are seriously considering the recruitment of foreign caregivers for elderly care.

At the same time, the growing preference of many Americans for home-based care is opening the door for caregiver immigration a little wider. Home-based care of the elderly is considered less expensive than institutional care.

Moreover, staying at home has proven safer, as clearly demonstrated by the higher incidence of casualties among the elderly who succumbed to the COVID-19 pandemic while in assisted living facilities and nursing homes.

Green Cards for Caregivers

Although there is no specific temporary visa category for caregivers, elderly Americans are beginning to discover and appreciate the option of sponsoring a foreign caregiver for a green card.

For the past few years, the visa wait times for nonprofessional immigrant workers had been getting shorter. Visa wait times (or visa backlogs) refer to the time it takes for the National Visa Center (NVC) to start processing the application of a caregiver.

“The good news is that since the fiscal year began in October, there has been no visa wait time for applicants in the “Other Worker” category, except for those born in China and India. In other words, Filipino caregivers and those born elsewhere need not wait for years to start their visa application.”

Caregiver visas fall under the “Other Worker” (or nonprofessional worker) visa category which historically, is in high demand. Visa backlogs occur when a category’s number of visa applications exceeds the annual visa quota under U.S. law. Visa backlogs for the Other Worker category typically stretched to 5 years.

The good news is that since the fiscal year began in October, there has been no visa wait time for applicants in the “Other Worker” category, except for those born in China and India. In other words, Filipino caregivers and those born elsewhere need not wait for years to start their visa application.

Caregiver Immigration Steps

Caregiver immigration is basically a three-step process.

First, the employer (or sponsor) is required to apply with the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) for foreign labor certification. This step is intended to protect U.S. workers. It involves conducting recruitment in the U.S. to ascertain that there is no willing, qualified, and available U.S. worker for the offered caregiver position.

Second, the employer can then file the petition for the caregiver with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) once the DOL’s labor certification is obtained.

Lastly, the caregiver can apply for an immigrant visa at the U.S. Embassy abroad when the DHS approves the petition for the caregiver. When approved at the U.S. Embassy, a visa is issued to allow the caregiver to enter the United States and work for the employer that sponsored her/him. If the caregiver is in the U.S. and has properly maintained his/her visa status, s/he may be allowed to apply for a green card while in the U.S.

Visa Availability Could Change

Visas for nonprofessional workers have become increasingly available since 2019. While this rare trend is expected to continue, there is no guarantee that it will remain for good.

Visa availability generally changes every month and depends on the date the green card case begins.

A U.S. employer can lock in the green card start date (widely known as the “priority date”) on the day the labor certification case is submitted to the DOL. The sooner the priority date is locked in, the better protected the case will be from future visa backlogs.

Cristina Godinez is an attorney who has provided immigration solutions to families, businesses, and at-risk migrants in the United States for over 16 years, with particular focus on the immigration of foreign nurses and other healthcare workers. She worked with the immigration law practice group of a top-tier global law firm and later with the world’s largest immigration law firm. She developed the immigration legal services program at the faith-based Migrant Center of New York, which provided counsel and representation to over 2,000 individuals. Cristina is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.